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Category Archives: insects

Arboreal Orb Weavers

There are several species of Neoscona and Araneusorb weavers in Missouri, and some are quite difficult to distinguish, even by specialists. Often, one must note small details of their anatomy in order to “key them out” to determine the species.

Neoscona species have a slightly triangular-ovate abdomen with a pattern resembling an upside-down spruce tree. On each side of this midline may be black, brown and greenish-brown markings. The legs usually are gray with brown rings. The carapace may be gray with brown markings. Araneus species may be similarly marked and colored, though some are quite showy and less hairy.

Size:

Length: usually about 1/4 inch (not including the legs); males are smaller than females.

Habitat and conservation:

These rather large and often hairy spiders are common in open woods, brushy fields, in tall grassy areas, and around fenceposts and buildings. They are common on the eaves of houses and barns. They may build their webs wherever structures are present for support and where flying insects commonly pass through.

Eating a daddy long leg spider.

Foods:

Flying insects such as moths and crane flies are the principal prey. Once caught in sticky strands of the web, they are bitten and trussed by the spider, which later eats them. Many orb weavers are nocturnal and have the peculiar habit of eating and rebuilding their webs each day. Webs are built at dusk and used for snaring prey during the night. At dawn, the spider reingests the strands (along with moisture that has collected on it as dew) and recycles the nutrients in making the next web.

Human connections:

The amazing web patterns have fascinated humans for millennia. E. B. White wrote his classic “Charlotte’s Web” about an Araneus spider. Orb weavers control populations of flying insects, many of which are pestiferous. Orb weavers don’t bite unless molested, and their bites are not dangerous, anyway.

Ecosystem connections:

These spiders control populations of flying insects. Although they may seem ferocious, outside their webs and hiding places these delicate creatures are quite vulnerable to predation themselves. Also, their egg sacs are relished by many species and, for example, provide winter food for many birds. For more information please check it out at http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/arboreal-orb-weavers#

This page is dedicated to the enjoyment of butterflies, some of our world’s most beautiful creatures. The species I have photographed here are all Missouri native, with each specimen being a beautiful creature in its own unique way. Unfortunately, this kind of simple beauty that butterflies possess can often be overlooked in the busy-ness (business) of life. Thus I created a little interesting facts on different kinds. I hope you enjoy!

The Anise Butterfly There is so many various kinds of Swallow Tails. Colors also depend on Male and female.The elegant Anise Swallowtail (Papilio zelicaon) is often mistaken for the Eastern Black Swallowtail . The caterpillars look nearly identical! The adults definitely have differences in markings, that, when compared side-by-side, are evident. Captured this is my back yard.

Butterfly In Flight In the Swallowtail Family Not sure Of the Name of this one.

The Paper Kite Butterfly only has two rather common colors, black and white, but is still an eye catching beauty. The way the light shines through the wings is just amazing, and if there are other colors around it looks a bit like stained glass.This was capture at the Butterfly House in St. Louis, Mo.

The Blue Clipper

The Clipper is a fast flying butterfly and has a habit of flying with its wings flapped stiffly between the horizontal position and a few degrees below the horizontal. It may glide between spurts of flapping.

The Painted Butterfly

This is one of the most common butterfly species in the world. The only places it doesn’t live are on Antarctica and some remote islands. It even migrates to Hawaii and Iceland!

The Tiger Yellow Swallow Tail Butterfly

The Tiger Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucas) is a strong flier with distinctive yellow and black striped markings on its wings and body (some females are brown or black, mimicking the poisonous pipevine swallowtail). This relatively common butterfly has a wingspan of 3.5-6.5 inches (9-16.5 cm). Southern subspecies are larger than the northern ones. These butterflies are called swallowtails because they have long “tails” on their hindwings which look a bit like the long, pointed tails of swallows (a type of bird).

PLEASE ALWAYS REMEMBER THESE PHOTOGRAPHS ARE COPYRIGHT, Protected by United States Copyright and the Property of FranzsFeaturedFotos, Peggy Franz

I was visited by this funny green little guy while fishing. He came up on me just like he was asking me what ya doing.. Some interesting information.The dragonflies agile flight and its ability to move in all six directions exude a sense of power and poise – something that comes only with age and maturity. The dragonfly can move at an amazing 45 miles an hour, hover like a helicopter fly backwards like a hummingbird, fly straight up, down and on either side. What is mind blowing is the fact that it can do this while flapping its wings a mere 30 times a minute while mosquitoes and houseflies need to flap their wings 600 and 1000 times a minute respectively.I am amazed at these little insects. They are just amazing to sit and watch the behavior.

As nymphs, dragonflies live in the water.
There’s a good reason why you see dragonflies and damselflies around ponds and lakes – they’re aquatic! Female dragonflies deposit their eggs on the water’s surface, or in some cases, insert them into aquatic plants or mosses. Once hatched, the nymph (or naiad, in this case) spends its time hunting other aquatic invertebrates. Larger species will even eat the occasional small fish or tadpole. After molting 9-17 times, the dragonfly will finally be ready for adulthood, and the nymph will crawl out of the water to shed its final nymphal skin.

A dragonfly nymph breathes through its anus.
A damselfly nymph breathes with gills at the end of its abdomen. The dragonfly nymph’s gills, oddly, are inside its rectum. That’s right, it breathes with its butt. The dragonfly nymph will pull water into its anus, where gas exchange occurs. When the dragonfly expels the water from its rear, it propels the nymph forward, providing the added benefit of locomoti

The male dragonfly has secondary sex organs.
In nearly all insects, the male sex organs are located at the tip of the abdomen. Not so in male dragonflies. His copulatory organ is on the underside of his abdomen, up around the second and third segments. His sperm, however, is stored in an opening of his ninth abdominal segment. Before mating, he has to fold his abdomen and transfer his sperm to his penis.

Long before the dinosaurs walked the Earth, dragonflies took to the air. If we could transport ourselves back 250 million years, we would immediately recognize the familiar site of dragonflies flying in pursuit of prey. Griffenflies, the gigantic precursors of our modern dragonflies, took flight in the Carboniferous period over 300 million years ago.

Thanks for looking and you can catch me @ https://www.facebook.com/PhotographyByPeggyFranzFranzsfeaturedfotos?ref=hl

PLEASE ALWAYS REMEMBER THESE PHOTOGRAPHS ARE COPYRIGHT, Protected by United States Copyright and the Property of FranzsFeaturedFotos, Peggy Franz

I took my family for a boat ride along the Mississippi and we came across where the homeless live in there tents and huts. We looked at the wall and saw this Beauty!! What a work of art. So unbelievable!

I had not seen anything so cool. This is what they must do to past the time away. Look at the detail and how they put it all together on a dirty gray wall and made it so bright and bold. I also got a picture of it a little closer but cropped.

Atlas moth is is a large Moth found in the tropical and subtropical forests of Southeast Asia, southern China, common across the Malay archipelago, Thailand to Indonesia.

These moths are considered the largest in the world in terms of total wing surface area (65 square inches). In Hong Kong the Cantonese name translates as “snake’s head moth“, referring to apical extension of the forewing, which bears a passing resemblance to a snake’s head.

Another interesting characteristic of the Atlas moth is that it doesn’t have fully developed mouth-parts, so it can’t feed…ever.

It survives on the larval fat reserves, throughout their entire 1-2 weeks adult lives.

I was at the Butterfly House here in St. Louis and I got to watch this Hatch from its cocoon. This was amazing!! so I thought I would share it with the Nature lovers! The very first Picture is what they look like when there wings dry.

Since I get lots of hits on this I thought I refresh it and repost . It is such a intersting article.